Germany’s mightiest rockers, Edguy, return with Age of the Joker! After a quiet 2010 and a slow moving 2011 so far, the band offer up another great collection of Rock and Roll that appeals to Heavy Metal fans without ever particularly catering to them. Whereas Rocket Ride seemed like a band losing their mind (with a great result!) and Tinnitus Sanctus seemed like a band taking itself way too seriously as a viable force, Age of the Joker strikes that perfect balance of tongue-in-cheek arena rock anthems and unrelenting passion for Rock music.
The album opens with the eight minute and twenty-four second epic “Robin Hood.” I suppose it’s easy to guess what it’s about but, honestly, I found it entirely unexpected. To kick off the album with a song like this will certainly appease fans that have been unhappy with the band’s last couple offerings. “Nobody’s Hero” is more typical of the romp I was expecting, as the band just tears through big chorus and street worthy guitar riffing. “Faces in the Darkness” and “Behind the Gates to Midnight World” have much the same qualities but an overall heavier/darker feel. “Rock of Cashel” and “Pandora’s Box” come back to back and ably represent the band’s passion for the Pop side of Rock, reminding longtime fans that Rocket Ride was made intentionally! “Fire On Down the Line” even has a bit of a bluesy feel to it, adding a new dynamic to Edguy. The sleeper hit here though is “Every Night Without You.” It’s a late eighties style big ballad of the highest order, reminding me a lot of Trash-era Alice Cooper and New Jersey-era Bon Jovi. Many will hate it, but for me it’s the perfect highlight to Age of the Joker.
Overall, this may be Edguy’s most well-rounded album to date. It doesn’t lean too far to one side or the other but represents the best of everything the band has done so far. As a fan of all of the band’s work, I love the back and forth of the songs and the big, bright production makes the songs stop just shy of exploding from your speakers (they save that for the live show I think). If you like big, ugly, angry Rock then Edguy’s Age of the Joker is not for you! If you hate big, ugly, angry Rock but have a soft spot for The Scorpions, Helloween, Iron Maiden, and late eighties/early nineties Alice Cooper than Age of the Joker is excellent choice for your favorite album this year!
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
